


A Safe Place

by Dawnfire8



Category: Alpha and Omega - Patricia Briggs
Genre: Gen, POV Multiple, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnfire8/pseuds/Dawnfire8
Summary: "Just another rogue wolf to deal with in the Cabinets" is what Charles thought when he'd left home that morning. Instead, he discovers something much more. Something that would change the future of all werewolves in North America.
Relationships: Bran Cornick/Leah Cornick, Charles Cornick/Anna Latham, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I randomly came up with this idea for a story and decided to test it out. Let me know if you think I should continue it!

She stood in the valley. Her straight black hair swayed with the wind. A beaten jacket clung to her narrow waist. Her scars were itching again, but she paid them no heed. She should have been at peace because of where she was, but not this time.

She had always loved the mountains. They were always so beautiful in this season, and she had always dreamed of climbing all the way up to one of the peaks so that she could look over the edge and see all that stood below the towering hills. However, her favorite place to be was in the valley.

The valley was beautiful that day. The flowers swayed in the breeze; their aroma carried off into the wind. Picturesque mountains hugged the valley closely. They were snow-capped like the ones she saw on postcards. The grass was soft and thick like a gentle green blanket covering the ground.

But for all her love for the valley, she could not take in the sights. She was frozen in space. Her eyes were wide and staring, but her legs would not move.

Silver eyes stared back at her in the distance, cold and intelligent. They penetrated her soul and commanded her to go still. The figure’s dark coat of fur made it appear as a shadow on the hill it stood upon. It gazed unblinkingly at her. Emotionless. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the lupine creature vanished.

She could only stare in shock. Was it a wolf, or just a figment of her imagination?

* * *

The kitchen phone rang.

Charles let out an annoyed sigh. He was laying on his back in bed and had been dozing when the phone had gone off. His mate, Anna, lay beside him fast asleep. Her root beer-colored hair was spread across the pillow as her gentle snores caused her chest to rise and fall evenly. He couldn’t help himself when he leaned over and gave her hair a quiet whiff. Strawberries. She had been using the shampoo he had bought for her.

Charles rolled out of bed reluctantly when the kitchen phone gave another insistent ring.

With the modern era came many new forms of communication. Charles’s favorite was the cellphone. It allowed him to communicate with others no matter where he was with the benefit of the many useful apps he could download off the internet. Most importantly, it meant that it was harder for people to disturb him while he was at home. Easier to silence a cellphone as opposed to a home phone. By now, most people had replaced their home phones with cellphones and preferred texting each other over phone calls. Unfortunately for him, old wolves were slow when it came to adapting to new technology and Aspen Creek was full of old wolves. Some of them still annoyed him with calls to his home phone.

He glanced at the time on the oven’s built-in clock. It was 5 o’clock in the morning. That meant whoever was calling him had an emergency or was deliberately trying to disturb him. He reached for the phone.

“Hello?”

“Charles, I have work for you.”

It was his father. Charles had expected as much. The old wolf had a cellphone but, for some reason, typically called Charles’s home directly if he knew his son was still in Aspen Creek.

 _Still better than Da talking in my head_ , Charles grumbled to himself. His father’s strange ability to speak to his wolves telepathically was a rather annoying quirk the Marrok had.

“Let me guess,” Charles said dryly. “Another wolf got upset and tried to eat someone, and that made his alpha very upset.”

Charles heard his father stifle a laugh over the phone. “Strangely enough, not this time. This incident is much closer to home. Literally. There have been reports of a wolf roaming the Cabinets. Its description doesn’t match any of the wolves in Aspen Creek, nor any of the wolves that are expected to visit in the near future. That means it is either someone seeking help, or a rogue wolf.”

Charles frowned. Rumors about a rogue wolf in the Cabinets was never good news. If word was getting around about the rogue, that meant that it was bold enough to let itself get spotted. Any werewolf that bold was a danger to humans, and other wolves by extension. Such a rogue would have to be contained and possibly destroyed.

“Is it a runaway from a pack, or is it a new wolf?”

“I’m not sure. None of the alphas I contacted said they were missing a wolf, so it is most likely a newly Changed one. Couldn’t nail down a consistent description of the rogue. Just that it was a wolf that appeared unusually intelligent.”

Bran did not bother to say more because Charles already knew. He had hunted rogue wolves dozens of times throughout his life. He would either bring them in alive or bring them in dead.

Charles had done this work so long that it had settled into a routine for him. With his older brother out of town and his father caught up in running all of North America’s packs, that left most of the enforcement of the laws on him. He did not mind most of the time. A majority of the wolves he had dealt with were either bad people in general or wolves that had gone mad. Killing them had been a mercy. Only a few cases left him suffering from nightmares.

“I will be leaving later today,” Charles said finally.

Charles heard a squeak through the phone, as if his father was leaning back in a chair. “Good. And Charles?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful.”

His father hung up without another word, leaving Charles with his phone still resting against his ear.

“Goodbye to you too,” Charles said blandly before replacing the phone.

Another day, another job. Charles went to the closet where he normally stored his gear. To save time, he kept most of what he needed for his jobs in one place. He pulled out a large blue bin and popped the lid off. Inside the bin was a backpack, a set of winter gear, and several granola bars. Charles packed everything together and threw the backpack onto his back before sliding the bin back into the closet. He patted his pockets, scrounging around for his car keys.

“Forgetting something? Or should I say _someone_?”

His mate, Anna, leaned against the kitchen counter. She was wearing the red sweater she bought for him last Christmas, though it was several sizes too big for her. His keys dangled from her index finger and she gave him a big smile.

“Thought I would remind you that you agreed to let me come with you when you go out on your jobs.”

Charles walked up to her and planted a kiss on her brow. “Those were for out-of-state jobs. I’m only going into the Cabinets this time. It’ll be quick. I promise.”

Anna frowned. “Remember the last time we went out into the Cabinets together? I recall that we were looking for a rogue wolf that time too. That ended with us nearly getting killed by a witch.”

Charles remembered too. And that was the main reason why he didn’t want her to come. He didn’t want her to get caught up in the crossfire if it turned out to be another witch.

“Let me remind you that the only reason your father didn’t kill you was because I was there last time.”

Charles grunted non-committedly. Sometimes, the mate bond they shared allowed some of his thoughts to bleed into Anna’s mind. He considered it both a positive and a negative of being mated. Ease of non-verbal communication in one hand, and inconvenient mind-reading in the other.

“What about this?” Charles compromised. “You stay here. But,” he held up a hand when Anna tried to interrupt him. “But I keep our mating bond open that way we can communicate with each other even while I’m away.”

“That’s what cellphones are for,” Anna deadpanned.

“True. But a cellphone won’t be able to tell you if I get injured or where I am. So, it’s actually better than a cellphone.”

Anna chewed her lip as she considered her options. “Very well. I will stay behind this time. But I still get to see you off.”

Anna hopped towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She gently placed a kiss against his lips. Charles’s fingers trailed through her brown hair as he returned the kiss. He gave a rare smile as she pulled away. He reached for the keys in her hand, but she stopped him.

Anna held up a finger. “First, you send me a text before you go out onto the trails.” She raised another finger. “Second, you call me as soon as you run into trouble. If you can’t get reception, use the bond instead.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Charles purred as he took the keys.

Anna smiled. “Good. I’ll be making lasagna tonight for dinner, so make sure you don’t get back late. I really want you to try my new recipe.”

“I will,” Charles nuzzled her head before heading towards the door. Before stepping out, he grabbed a wooden necklace off the shelf and placed it over his shoulders.

Charles had learned a lesson from his last outing. Just because a rogue wolf would be easy for him to deal with didn’t mean that a rogue would be the only thing he would have to face. Last time he went after a rogue in the Cabinets, he ended up running into a black witch instead. This time around, he would be better prepared.

The amulet was a simple thing materially speaking. It was mostly hazel wood that had been carved into a simple figure. What mattered was the magic held inside it. The warding magic would help protect him from witchcraft, as would his usual protections. He tucked the amulet inside his jacket so that it wouldn’t get in the way.

The air nipped Charles’s face as he stepped out the door. Montana was a cold weather state, and today was no exception. The trees swayed in the cool breeze. Autumn had settled in and turned the leaves fiery reds and yellows. A pile of dried leaves swirled around the front yard in little circles as the wind tossed them around.

Charles sighed in irritation. He would have to rake the leaves when he returned. He had set up a compost heap in the backyard to help break down the leaves each year. However, someone would still have to gather up the leaves and move them there. Brother Wolf was as opposed to having Anna do it this year as Charles was and was determined to get it done without help. Faintly, he felt his mate nagging him for his stubbornness through their bond and he smiled.

He walked down the driveway to their car, a red Subaru Outback. Aspen Creek snowed heavily during the wintertime, and the car was better for maintaining traction on the wet, icy roads than most other car brands. He climbed into the car and turned on the ignition, placing his hands over the air vents as the car heated up. Once the engine was warm, Charles put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road.

As Charles drove out of Aspen Creek and into the Cabinets, the wooded surroundings were slowly replaced with mountains. In the summer months, the dirt roads were more heavily travelled and generally clear of vegetation. With winter rolling in, vegetation was still not an issue, but the ground tended to be muddy underneath a coating of snow.

Charles drove slowly as he made his way deeper into the mountains. He’d contacted his father along the way for more details and marked the rogue’s last sighting on a map he kept in his car. Supposedly, the wolf had hid itself away in one of the more remote parts of the Cabinets. He would have to stick to the roads a bit longer and look for a route that left him much closer to the site marked on his map.

Charles gripped the steering wheel tightly when one of the tires caught a muddy patch and started skidding. The Subaru rattled as it activated traction control in an effort to control the skidding tire while Charles fought with the steering wheel. Eventually, the tire broke loose from the mud patch and caused the car to jolt forward onto the road.

Charles let out a slow breath as the car continued to merrily chug its way down the road. The Cabinets were just as unpleasant as he remembered.

Another hour of slow driving and Charles pulled to the side of the road. There wasn’t a parking area nearby, but he figured that a clear spot beside the road was as good a parking spot as any. He glanced at his map and considered different paths he could take.

The Cabinets were littered with several trails. Hikers regularly visited the mountains and tramped down pathways that weaved through the hills. Even though taking these trails would have made traveling on foot easier for Charles, he opted to detour from the main route and let his senses guide him through the wilderness.

 _If a rogue werewolf is roaming the Cabinets_ , Charles thought, _they will most likely avoid the trails to stay hidden._

Even better, in the presence of nature, spirits would be more inclined to talk to him. In most cases, the spirits only served to annoy him, making requests or sharing information that was utterly useless to him. They were part of the reason why he had added so much new technology to his house. The electricity and whirring parts drove away the spirits and drowned out their voices.

Here in the mountains far away from any towns and cities, the spirits were loud and numerous. They were hidden in the grass, hiding in the trees and lofting through the air. For once, Charles dropped his defenses slightly and let himself listen.

The spirits spoke of normal things, things that he would expect to find in the mountains. Wild animals, rivers, valleys. Nothing unusual. However…. Charles tilted his head with his eyes closed. There was just the faintest hint of something else. Something different. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it had caught the spirits’ attention.

He reached for his cell phone and looked for Anna’s number. He sent her a quick text.

_In the Cabinets. Just parked. Starting search now._

A couple seconds passed by, and Anna sent him back a thumbs up. Charles shoved his phone back into his pocket and set off into the woods.

Charles continued on foot until the trail got too wild for him to continue in human form. He cursed when his pants snagged on a thorn bush and tore. So much for his hiking gear. He tossed his backpack onto the ground and started stripping.

Change of plans. He would check the lowlands in wolf form first. If the rogue wasn’t there, he would return for his gear and continue into the mountains in human form.

Shifting into wolf form only took him seconds. Either his shaman heritage or the fact he was born a werewolf meant that he had an easier time switching between forms than other werewolves. Also, strangely enough, clothes tended to appear on his body whenever he returned to human shape. No, he didn’t know where the clothes came from. He thought it was strange too. Sometimes, the clothes weren’t even from this century.

He shook out his red coat and stretched. His hearing and sense of smell in human form were more powerful than that of a normal human. But the wolf’s senses were even stronger.

With his improved senses, Charles could hear the sound of squawking vultures accompanied by the scent of a dead deer. It could be a recent kill from a bear, but Charles figured it was as good a spot to start his investigation as any. He loped into the wilderness, eyes peeled, and ears pricked.

He found the dead deer in the valley below. Three turkey vultures were bickering over the remains and flew away when they spotted him. They circled in the sky as they watched Charles examine the deer.

Charles sniffed the remains of the deer carefully. The deer had been torn open and partially eaten. A couple dark feathers clung to the edges of the kill where the vultures had pecked at it. One of said vultures squawked impatiently overhead. There was a foreign scent clinging to the deer’s remains. Charles sighed. His initial assessment had been correct. It was just a bear kill. Charles left the deer carcass to the vultures and continued his search.

He explored for several more hours. He searched the valley carefully but found no sign of the rogue wolf. No tracks, no scent trails, no wolf kills. It was getting near time for him to return to his gear and move his search to a higher elevation.

A quiet noise caused Charles to freeze. It was lupine in nature, but not the kind that he was expecting. It came again mere feet from him. A quiet whimper barely detectable from where he stood. He followed the noise using his sharp ears and came upon a startling discovery.

There in the long grass sat a tiny werewolf pup. The pup was silver-coated and lay curled up deep in the grass. Its eyes were still glued shut and its ears still folded over. It couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. When Charles bent down to sniff the pup, it lifted its wobbly head and gave another pitiful whimper.

Charles was stunned. He had never encountered an infant werewolf in his entire life. In fact, he had believed that he himself was the only case of someone being born a werewolf. The pup was much too young to have been Changed the traditional way.

Charles looked around but saw no signs of the pup’s parents. He looked down at the pup as it weakly stumbled towards him. He could not leave the pup behind. Despite the warm weather, the pup was still at risk of suffering from exposure. Even worse, there were predators in the area who would have happily eaten an unguarded pup.

It was decided then. Charles would bring the pup to his father and let him decide what would be done.

Charles gingerly grasped the pup by its scruff and carried it back in the direction of Aspen Creek.

The pup had settled down quickly, either out of instinct or due to being in close proximity to an older, dominant werewolf. The pup, who smelled male to Charles’s nose, simply dangled from the wolf’s jaws like any normal wolf pup would. Before Charles could travel for more than a couple minutes, however, a shadow passing ahead of him caused him to pause.

A shape stuck out from above the undergrowth. A furry white head bounced up and down as the creature bounded through the tall grass in Charles’s direction. Electric blue eyes settled on Charles and caused the creature to freeze. It met the werewolf’s eyes before its head disappeared into the grass. Charles remained alert, trying to track the creature’s movements. But nothing could have prepared him for when the white lupine suddenly burst out of the undergrowth.

It slammed into him with enough force to knock the werewolf pup out from his jaws. But rather than going after the fallen pup, it continued its attack on Charles. The werewolf quickly recovered from the surprise attack and stood to defend himself. He whirled around and slashed outwards with a large paw, scoring the attacking lupine across the muzzle. But the white wolf simply snarled and tackled him to the ground.

Despite the other wolf’s smaller stature, it displayed overwhelming strength. Once it had Charles pinned, he was unable to force the other wolf off of him. The white wolf sank its teeth into Charles’s shoulder and shook him like a rabid dog. Then it moved to his underbelly and tore away at his chest. It savaged him with a ferocity rivaling that of a berserk werewolf.

Despite Charles’s struggles, he was unable to free himself from the wolf’s pinning grip. Only after Charles had given up the fight and played dead did the wolf relent. It stood over him, breathing heavily, as it decided whether it wanted to continue its attack. Sharp fangs closed around Charles’s throat and paused, as if waiting for the werewolf to react. Finally, after a long moment, it stepped back and turned its attention to the werewolf cub still lying on the ground.

The white wolf gently licked the pup on the head to quiet its crying. Then gently lifted it off the ground with its jaws and disappeared back into the undergrowth.

Charles continued to lay on the ground. He gasped for air, each breath sending a shiver of pain down his body. A creature with the body of a wolf, but the strength of a tiger. One that managed to stay tucked away within his pack’s territory without anyone noticing until now. The Marrok needed to know.

He could already feel his father responding to his distress. The pack bonds connecting every member of the pack carried his pain and warned the Alpha about one of his fallen wolves. Charles guessed that it wouldn’t be long before reinforcements arrived. Nothing to do but wait.

Charles grimaced. A wolf and a wolf pup. A wolf who did not smell like a werewolf but was accompanied by a werewolf pup. This would make for an interesting puzzle.

Charles sighed and rested as he waited for the other wolves to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back with chapter 2! Whoo!

It had not taken long for help to arrive. Charles used the word “help” with extreme effort as a dominant wolf like him was not particularly keen on letting other wolves see him injured. This time around, it was clear that his father had taken that fact into consideration when deciding who to send after Charles.

The first wolf to arrive was his mate. She was in human form. Her root beer color hair was tied back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She also donned a thin jacket even though most werewolves would not have felt cold even this late in Fall.

Brother Wolf, who had been quiet for most of the day, perked up at the sight of the woman. _Mate_.

Before Brother Wolf could force Charles to stand, Anna’s Omega magic eased out of her body and wrapped up Charles like a warm blanket and calmed both him and his wolf spirit. She crouched beside him and placed a hand on his chest.

“I told you you should have brought me.”

Charles groaned.

Anna’s hands brushed down his sides, spreading a wave of calm throughout his body. “You’re hurt pretty badly. Just what kind of rogue did you fight up here?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Charles said through their bond. He closed his eyes and focused on absorbing the Omega wolf’s waves of peace. He felt Brother Wolf settle down inside of him with a contented sigh. He listened quietly as Anna looked him over and scolded him for letting himself get hurt. Apparently, one of his shoulders was torn up pretty badly, but thankfully the rogue wolf hadn’t damaged anything important. Anna’s hands helped to sooth the pain in the sore shoulder. Charles’s attention was so absorbed by his mate that he almost didn’t notice the other wolves arriving.

The first wolf he smelled was Colin Taggart. Tag was a long-time resident of Aspen Creek as well as a werewolf. If Bran didn’t send Charles searching in the Cabinets, he probably would have sent Tag instead. Tag was as familiar with the mountains as Charles was and one of the more dominant wolves in his pack. This time around, the giant man had his red hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a green jacket that looked thick compared to Anna’s.

Behind Tag was a smaller woman. It took Charles a moment to remember her name. Ashlyn. She was a recent addition to the Marrok pack, having been changed mere months ago. She was a bit on the short side, just over five feet tall, and kept her eyes down as she followed Tag towards Charles.

“You look like you got run over by a school bus,” Tag deadpanned as he stopped beside Charles’s prone form.

Charles rolled his eyes. Tag had an endearing sense of humor. Although Charles admitted that his humor did help to calm Brother Wolf who was currently protesting at having the other wolves near him.

“We found your car and bag on the way here. I can have Ashlyn drive your car back home if you would like to ride with me and Anna instead.”

Charles turned towards Ashlyn. The young woman glanced up at Charles with big brown eyes, then quickly looked away.

“I promise not to damage it on the way back,” the woman nearly squeaked. “I promise.” Her hands fiddled with her light brown hair nervously.

She was a submissive wolf, Charles remembered. She was technically stable enough to be allowed to join a new pack, but Charles’ father was worried that her flightiness would give another werewolf the wrong idea. Better to keep her in Aspen Creek until she got used to being around other werewolves.

Charles nodded hesitantly. It wouldn’t bother him to have a submissive female driving his car. As long as she didn’t drive the same way she talked. Last thing he wanted was for her to get rear-ended while driving back. Maybe he should bundle her up and drive her back home instead.

Charles clamped down on Brother Wolf as he fought the urge to protect Ashlyn. Something about having both an Omega wolf and a submissive wolf next to him at the same time made the more protective side of his sibling spirit emerge. Dominant wolves were naturally driven to protect weaker wolves in his pack, and the nervous wolf was making him feel overprotective.

Anna sensed the tension in his mind and started rubbing slow circles on his back. “That will be alright,” she said to Ashlyn. “Tag and I will help walk Charles back to Tag’s car. You can drive the car back to Aspen Creek and leave the car in our driveway. You remember where we live, right?”

Ashlyn nodded stiffly and walked away, ostensibly to find Charles’s car. Anna pat Charles’s head and sighed.

“I need you to shift out of wolf form. Tag and I are strong enough to carry you, but it will be easier if you walk.”

Brother Wolf griped with Charles inside their head. Charles wasn’t too eager to change back into human form with the rogue still potentially lurking around. But Brother Wolf would rather walk back on their own two feet than have to be carried. It worried Charles that he wasn’t sure which of them was the more reasonable one at that moment.

In the end, Charles’s heeded Anna’s advice and shifted back into human form. His wounds itched as the Change caused the still open and bleeding cuts to scab over. As a final step of the Change, a fresh set of clothes materialized on his now human body and left him as well dressed as the two werewolves waiting for him to finish changing. This time around, he found himself wearing a T-shirt and shorts that were completely inappropriate for the cold weather. Good thing he was a werewolf instead of a regular human. He could have been in serious danger of freezing otherwise.

Anna helped Charles to his feet. Tag tried to lend Charles a hand, but the werewolf waved him off.

“I got it,” Charles grunted with effort.

Anna glanced at him with half-lidded eyes. “Sure, you do.”

Charles hissed when the first step yanked on a healing wound on his leg. “How far away did you park?”

“Not far,” Tag responded. “We tried to park as close to where Anna thought you were as possible.”

_Thank you, mating bond_ , Charles thought. With experience, a mating bond could be used like a compass to help a werewolf find their mate. It looked like all of those lessons Asil gave Anna regarding mating bonds paid off.

Tag looked at Charles up and down. “What happened? Even if it was a bear, you usually come out of a fight in better shape than this.”

Charles bit down on the urge to tell Tag to stop staring and forced himself to think of something more polite to say. “I’ll tell you later.”

Tag frowned but didn’t press further.

Anna nudged his shoulder as they walked back to Tag’s car. “How are you feeling?” She asked through the bond they shared.

Brother Wolf who had been antsy before calmed at the sound of their mate’s voice. “We are fine,” the wolf spirit responded. “Just a little scratched up.”

Anna’s eyes narrowed unrepentantly. “You are downplaying your injuries. That means you are really badly hurt.”

_Oops._

They reached the car towards the end of Anna’s mental scolding. Though Anna and Charles tried to load Charles carefully into the back row, Charles was still panting heavily by the time he was laying across the row of seats. Anna glanced back at him worriedly as she sat down in the front passenger seat. Despite the cold, Charles sweated with effort as he tried to reassure her with a smile.

Tag took the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition. Charles let himself sink into the seat as the air conditioning turned on and blew hot air over his body. Now that he was finally laying down inside a warm car, he could feel exhaustion setting in. He could have sworn that either Tag or Anna said something to him, but he drifted off to sleep before his brain could translate what they said.

* * *

Charles woke up on his back with a thin blanket covering his chest. He smelled the scent of alcohol and iodine, but his mind was still too foggy to understand where the scent was coming from. He tried to sit up but groaned when the motion sent a fiery sensation running through the half-healed wounds covering his body. A hand placed itself on his chest and stopped him from trying to sit up a second time.

“Be still,” a voice murmured. “You’re still healing.”

His father’s soft, yet commanding voice forced Charles to lay back down. As his vision cleared, his father’s face began to come back into focus. As usual, Bran looked rather unassuming. Today, the old werewolf had chosen to dress up like a young man fresh out of high school. To anyone who didn’t know Bran, the werewolf looked like an average American teenager still caught between childhood and adulthood. He wore modern clothes that should have made him look older, but instead emphasized his boyish facial features. Even the faint smile on Bran’s face made him look significantly younger than he actually was. Sometimes, it disturbed Charles how good of an actor his father was.

From the design of the room, Charles guessed that he had been brought to the holding room in the basement of Bran’s house. Anna and Tag must have known that it was the only place where Charles would feel secure without having to worry about being harassed by the other wolves in the pack. Charles’s own home would have worked too. But then he would have felt a need to further secure the house to make sure there were no intruders. This way, Charles could relax knowing that his father would not let anyone disturb him.

“When I sent you to catch the rogue, I did so with the expectation that you would come back in one piece.” Bran’s voice held a worried edge despite his humorous tone. Charles couldn’t blame him. Practice and experience had turned Charles into a good fighter. To be beat by a single rogue wolf meant that either the other wolf was a better fighter or wasn’t a normal werewolf at all.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Charles recounted the events leading up to and including the attack. He remembered that the attack had happened suddenly, like he had been struck by lightning. He had seen the wolf before it had attacked him, yet it had still managed to catch him off-guard with how fast it moved. Not only that, it was small for a werewolf, yet significantly stronger than it looked.

Besides the speed of the wolf’s movement, Charles also recalled flashes of white and blue in a pattern unlike any wolf he had ever seen. Its fur had been snow-white. Yet patches of its fur seemed to have nearly invisible blue lines crossing over it.

In Charles’s experience, werewolves came with a large range of coat colors. His own wolf form had reddish fur with patches of white. Yet he had also seen werewolves with coat patterns that would be more appropriate on a dog than a wolf. Some werewolves even looked like giant versions of household pets, including the rogue wolf he had hunted a few years ago.

This wolf, however, did not look like any wild wolf or dog Charles had ever seen. In fact, it appeared to only be lupine in shape rather than color.

Bran frowned when Charles shared this piece. “So, it resembled a wolf, but did not move or quite look like one?” Bran hummed thoughtfully. “What about its scent? What did it smell like?”

Charles tried to recall what he had smelled. As far as he could remember, the wolf had been nearly odorless. It had also left no scent trail when it had left. Tag had checked before they left. It was only during the attack that the wolf had any discernible scent.

“It had smelled a bit like ozone and… milk?”

Bran blinked. “Milk? As if it were female?”

“Yes?” Charles frowned in thought. “Yes.”

“And you said that it had taken the werewolf pup after attacking you?”

“Yes.”

Bran leaned back in his chair. He tapped his chin as a small smile lit his face. “So, our rogue wolf is female and appears to have a cub of her own. But that does not tell us _what_ she is, or how she was able to give birth to a werewolf.”

“You think the werewolf cub is hers?” Charles asked incredulously.

His Da looked at him as if he was dumb. “We have a rogue female wolf who is lactating and nearly mauled you to death because you touched an infant werewolf, and you are wondering if she is the mother?”

On second thought, he did sound kind of dumb for doubting his Da’s words. But if the rogue wolf had given birth to the werewolf cub, then….

“I thought it was impossible to give birth to a werewolf unless the mother was a werewolf too. In which case, the mother would end up dying in the process anyway.”

Charles was sure that he had gotten that right because he and his mate had done their research. As much as Anna pretended not to care, it was obvious to Charles that she had wanted to have children of her own. She had spoken to both him and his brother, Samuel, extensively on the topic. And Charles never missed the way her eyes had lit up at the sight of any children they came across when they went out together. After ruling out the possibility of her giving birth herself, Anna had started exploring the possibility of hiring a surrogate. A female werewolf couldn’t carry offspring to term, not without losing their lives or their sanity in the process, so a surrogate would have provided a way around this. Unfortunately, according to Samuel, a surrogate carried its own risks.

The surrogate would have to be a human. No other race would work. Second, a human surrogate would only be able to carry human offspring to term. All non-human offspring would end in a miscarriage. Anna had still considered going through with a surrogacy plan, even though it would mean that their child would be born human instead of a werewolf like them. However, Charles had talked her out of it. He had lived long enough to know that watching their child grow old and die before them would be too painful an experience for both of them. He only had to look at Samuel to find a perfect example.

If this rogue wolf had found a way to give birth to werewolf offspring without dying or going insane, that could change everything. Anna’s desire to have children could finally come true. Speaking of Anna --

“Where’s Anna?” Charles asked. His mate bond told him that she was nearby, but he couldn’t see her in the room.

Bran smiled. “She’s upstairs watching tv with Leah. Yes, I know. It surprised me too. Apparently, their relationship has changed as of late.”

The image of the two werewolves sitting on a couch enjoying tv shows together hurt Charles’s brain enough that he forced himself to think of something else. “Well, now that you’ve heard my story, do you have any idea who or what this female wolf could be?”

Bran gave a small smile that could have been an affirmative or a negative response.

“Okay,” Charles said slowly. “Do you at least have some idea of what we are going to do about her? If someone else is unfortunate enough to run into her like I did, they might not escape with their lives.”

“Well,” Bran stretched with a yawn. “The part of the Cabinets she was spotted in is rather remote this time of year. Most of the hiking done in that region takes place during the summer months when the terrain is cleaner. This late in the year, there’s always a risk of getting snowed in and getting stranded for a couple days. I don’t expect any humans to run into her at least for a couple months. Still….

“If she is, in fact, a mother with werewolf offspring, I cannot be expected to leave them to fend for themselves with winter fast approaching. I would much rather they be brought to live in Aspen Creek where I can keep a closer eye on them.”

“She didn’t seem too eager to talk,” Charles said dryly. “And if she is not a werewolf, she might not respond kindly to you ordering her around. She might even fight back.”

“That’s why we are not making her move to Aspen Creek by force.” Bran continued when Charles rose a querying eyebrow at him. “We will make coming to Aspen Creek her idea.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

Bran’s eyes lit up cheerfully. “I have my ways.”

“Really?” Charles gave him a wary look.

Bran glanced back at Charles and smiled plainly. “Really. A good Alpha knows how to get his wolves to obey without having to use force. We will just have to show her that joining the pack would not only benefit her but would also be good for her pup. The rest will take care of itself.”

“Okay.” Charles still had his doubts but knew that he would just have to trust his father.

* * *

Bran shut the door behind himself silently as he stepped out of the room where his son would be kept safe. He ascended the stairs slowly, a million thoughts rushing through his mind.

“A female who can birth werewolves,” Bran murmured to himself. “Just imagine all the good such a person could bring to our pack with her gift.”

He reached the top of the stairs and entered the living room where Anna and Leah were still seated on the couch. Pirates danced across the television screen locked in a sword fight. Leah had her back to him, but Anna saw him as soon as he entered and immediately hopped off the couch.

“How’s Charles?” Anna asked without a hint of hesitation.

Bran gave the Omega wolf his mildest smile. “He will be fine. Just need some rest.”

Anna let out a sigh of relief and rushed past him to see to her mate. If it had been any other wolf, Bran might have been offended by her lack of etiquette, but it was easier to toe the line between respect and disrespect when one was an Omega wolf.

Leah, who was still seated on the couch, gave him a bored but expecting look.

Bran gave her a mild smile too. “Looks like we will be calling a pack meeting tonight.”

Leah raised an eyebrow at him but did not bother to ask further. Being Bran’s mate, she knew that he would only tell her what she needed to know and wouldn’t respond to further questioning. Instead, she got up and went to change clothes in her dressing room without a word.

In a normal relationship, her silence would have bothered Bran. But Bran and Leah did not have a normal relationship. So, Bran ignored his mate’s moodiness and focused on contacting his wolves.

He closed his eyes and reached out for his pack bonds. For Bran, he heard rather than saw the bonds for each of his wolves and he swept them all up easily with a quick motion of his hand. When he could feel the weight of his pack resting in his hand, he reached out with his ‘otherness’ and spoke to his wolves.

_Meeting tonight in the pole barn_ , he said mentally. _Everyone must attend. No exceptions._

Then he released the bonds, letting them settle back into place. He opened his eyes to see Leah leaving the dressing room in a clean set of clothes. The clothes were stylish, yet plain enough for a meeting in a pole barn. Bran nodded to Leah and they left the house together.

The pole barn was a short distance from their house, so they chose to jog there rather than drive. Even with the short distance, they were not the first to arrive at the meeting. Already, several cars were parked in front of the pole barn the pack used as a frequent meeting place. Bran ignored the wolves who lowered their eyes respectfully at the sight of him and made his way into the barn. He went to the small stage at the center of the barn while Leah sat off to the side. He stood on the makeshift wooden platform with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he waited as the other wolves arrived.

It took mere minutes for the entire pack to arrive, Bran’s mental message effectively reaching everyone instantly. Some came alone while others brought a few family members. Most of them looked like they came straight to the pole barn, not bothering to stop at home for more appropriate clothing. One of the wolves even arrived in a baseball T-shirt and cap, no doubt preparing to attend a game in Missoula.

When all of the pack’s werewolves were in attendance, Bran dropped his arms and opened his eyes. The room immediately fell silent.

“I have gathered you all here to discuss a matter of utmost importance,” Bran said slowly, his voice echoing in the silent room. “Earlier today, a rogue wolf was found roaming the Cabinet Mountains near Aspen Creek. This wolf was found in the company of a young werewolf cub.”

Though no one spoke. Bran could feel a wave of excitement and anxiety pass through the gathered wolves like an ocean wave. A werewolf cub was exciting news indeed.

“This new development was neither expected nor planned. Therefore, we must proceed with caution.”

Bran let his cool gaze sweep over the assembled wolves. They gazed back at him obediently, ready to obey his every order.

“Find the female wolf and her pup. But do not interact with them without my permission. We are trying to locate them not frighten them. Anyone who so much as harms either of them will be punished by me personally. Understood?”

The wolves bowed their heads. They would take heed of his warning and would steer clear of the female wolf.

Bran gave the slightest of smiles. “Good. That will be all for now. All of you may leave.” He paused. “Except for you, Ashlyn. I have something that I would like you to do for me.”

All of the wolves, excluding Bran and Ashlyn, slowly got up and left the pole barn. Bran stayed on the platform while Ashlyn stood in the corner sweating bullets. When the pair were left alone in the pole barn, Bran stepped off the platform and approached Ashlyn.

Ashlyn, the inexperienced submissive wolf that she was, continued to stand in the corner trying to make herself look as small as possible.

Bran sighed. He would have to break her of that habit. Submissive wolves brought stability to a pack, but there was no place for fear and weakness in a werewolf pack.

“You have nothing to fear, child,” Bran said softly. “I have a very important job that only you can take care of.”

Ashlyn glanced up at him warily. “A job? What kind of job?”

Bran smiled to himself as he explained the submissive wolf’s new role. The pieces of his plan were starting to come together. Soon, this mystery wolf would be his.

* * *

_Somewhere in the Cabinets…_

Raina climbed the steps to the abandoned cabin, the wet and half-rotten wood squelching underneath her weight. Her son was still grasped gently between her jaws. Despite getting upset during the fight with the rogue werewolf, the little pup had calmed down enough to fall asleep.

Her eyes softened when the pup’s gentle snores reached her ears.

She entered the slightly dilapidated cabin with a sigh of relief. She had been lucky when she had stumbled across the site. It had clearly been a long time since the cabin had been cleaned, but the smell bothered her not at all as she closed the door behind her. She was simply pleased that she had a roof over her head for once.

She paced her way to the back of the cabin and placed her child in his spot inside a makeshift crib. It was not particularly sturdy, made from pieces of wood and grass that Raina had collected after moving in, but it would do for now.

Raina let out a shaky breath. She’d been reckless when she had been relocating the pup. Her child had been close to getting killed when she had finally tracked him down. She could have kept him with her if she had stayed in human form, but her wolf form left her magic stronger, and she was better able to hide her tracks from any would-be pursuers.

The tiny werewolf yawned and stretched inside of the makeshift crib. Raina rocked the crib until he settled down and went back to sleep.

Raina would do better next time. She would keep her little family safe even if it cost her her life. Anything to prevent them from living the life that was handed to her. They would be _safe_.

She let the thought settle her as she continued to rock the crib slowly. _They will be safe_ , she whispered in her mind as she gazed down lovingly at her two sweet cubs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't say when the next chapter will come because I haven't written it yet. All I can say is that it will come eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being shorter than I initially intended. But since I have a couple exams this week, I decided that I would post a shorter version and make the next chapter longer instead. Next chapter will probably come somewhere between next weekend and Christmas.

Leah was in her office seated at her desk, nose deep in another email. Her fingers tapped at the computer keys as her eyes scanned the screen. She was eager to finish responding to all of her emails before going to bed. Yet every time she would finish one email, another would appear to take its place.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Did she address the email’s sender by her last name or by her husband’s last name now that she was married? Leah was too tired to remember.

Leah had been busier as of late. Bran’s pack meeting had carried the side effect of causing rumors to spread about the mystery wolf hiding in the Cabinets. Not just in Aspen Creek but also among the rest of the country’s packs. Leah was constantly bombarded by questions about this female; whether it was true that she was capable of having werewolf offspring, how soon they could expect her to be available in Aspen Creek, if she had any siblings who were single. One of the emailers had been brazen enough to ask if Bran could order the female wolf produce offspring for him. Leah had been more than happy to tell him off in a strongly worded email.

Leah growled when she responded to the latest email only to find another one waiting in her inbox. This issue was becoming a real inconvenience for Leah. The least Bran could have done was discuss the matter with her before announcing it to the rest of the pack. But as usual, Bran chose to leave her in the dark then have her manage the fallout after the fact. How typical.

Leah’s eyes scanned the heading of the next email.

PACK TRANSFER REQUEST

Ah. Finally, something that didn’t have to do with the broodmare in the Cabinets. Just when Leah was about to tear her own hair out.

“Let’s see what you have here,” Leah murmured as she scanned the email.

The Cumberland Plateau pack was looking to send one of their wolves to the Marrok for some re-education. Apparently, the problem wolf was harassing the female members of the pack, and the Alpha was losing his patience. Nothing too crazy. Troubled wolves were regularly sent to Aspen Creek to be rehabilitated. Most wolves straightened out their behavior very quickly after meeting Bran. Leah typed up a short response to the email, then pulled out her pen and scribbled down a note to inform Bran of the new wolf coming to Aspen Creek.

When she was done writing the note, she set down the pen and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Time for a break. She got up and went to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of tea. On a whim, she grabbed her running jacket and went out for a jog. Aspen Creek was in a decently wooded part of Montana, so she did not have to go far to find a good trail to start her jog.

She jogged down the trail in silence, letting her wolf soak in the peace of the woods. Leah had lived in Aspen Creek for many decades. She had run these trails so many times that she recognized every stone, every tree and every bump she passed by. It was one of the few things that pleased her about Aspen Creek. She knew every bit of the territory as if it was attached to the back of her hand. Every bit of the land belonged to her husband and was thus hers by extension. They had defended Aspen Creek from countless threats throughout the years, and every invader had failed to challenge their rule. This new arrival would not change that.

This rogue female had been a fool to come to Aspen Creek of all places. Werewolf children or not, Leah would not hesitate to destroy the female if she continued trespassing. She felt her wolf shift uneasily, remembering Bran’s rigid order to not harm the rogue.

Leah snorted with disgust. She thought that Bran’s reasoning was foolish. The rogue had nearly ripped Charles to pieces, but her mate was looking to bring in the rogue rather than eliminate a potential threat. The mystery surrounding the female did not justify her assault on their territory.

And now she was thinking about the rogue again. Leah scolded herself for letting the sense of peace from her jog slip away so easily. She would have to take another walk later today to make up for it. Maybe even run in her wolf form instead.

Regardless, the rogue would have to be a matter dealt with later. She would allow her husband to deal with the strange creature for now. But when he failed, Leah would be right there by his side. She would make sure he knew that she was right in the end.

* * *

Raina was on the verge of tears.

The twins had been fussy all morning. They woke up crying, no doubt hungry. So, Raina had fed and burped them. But even after their meal, they continued to cry. She tried everything. She checked their diapers, rocked them and played with them, but nothing would work. In the end, she felt like crawling into their crib and crying with them.

_Why am I here?_ She thought miserably. _Why did I get myself into this mess?_ She’d thought being a single parent would be hard. Yes. It was hard. But somehow, she had still managed to underestimate how trying it would be.

Her daughter suddenly stopped crying and made a strange face. Her dark eyes flashed a faint blue and the little infant transformed into a wolf. The pup waddled around the crib on unsteady legs. Her diaper slid off with a wet splat.

Raina pressed her forehead against the side of the crib with a groan. She had just changed that diaper. She covered her nose as the smell wafted towards her.

“Ick! All I gave you is milk. How do you make it smell so bad on the way out?”

Her daughter whimpered unapologetically.

Raina slid a fresh diaper onto the pup before picking up the soiled cloth and taking it outside to wash it. The cold bit at her skin as she stepped out of the protection of the cabin. She pulled her jacket tight around her body. It was starting to get a lot colder in the valley. Her worn jacket wasn’t doing as good of a job keeping out the cold as before. Even the inside of the cabin was starting to feel a little cold. She would need to find a way to patch the hole in the roof and collect some firewood. Maybe see if she could get her hands on a new jacket. Even though she didn’t have money. She frowned.

Heating aside, the one other downside to living in a rundown cabin in the middle of the woods was that there was no plumbing. That meant that every time Raina needed to wash something or get a drink of water, she had to go find a stream. Ah. The joys of camping.

Raina kept her eyes peeled as she made her way towards one of the streams even though she had already scouted the area multiple times. She had already been wary before moving into the area. Now that she knew she wasn’t the only unusual creature out here, she needed to be more careful. The last thing she needed was to run into more werewolves when she was by herself.

She bit her lip when she recalled the moment when she had discovered that one of her babies had disappeared. She had tucked him away in a nicely hidden spot only to find him missing when she had returned for him. Her heart began to race with anxiety. She knew that if anyone had looked at her face at that moment, they would have seen inhuman eyes peering out from her pale features.

Raina paused and took several deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. She had to stay calm so her magic wouldn’t leak out. She had to keep that part of her hidden until she needed it. Until then, she couldn’t risk letting her magic take over. Not when someone dangerous might be watching. Someone like _him_.

She found a small stream. It was tiny and pitiful, but the flow of water was sufficient to be useful. She bent down and rinsed off the soiled cloth while thoughts raced through her head. She would have to start scouting for new places to hide. Preferably ones that would allow her to hide her children somewhere safe and quiet. They would need to stay hidden while she went out looking for this place she was meant to find.

Despite her best efforts, this town or whatever this place was she was told to find was not shown on any of the maps she had Googled. It was as if this place didn’t even exist. She cursed her stupidity for not thinking things through before running off into the wilderness. Granted, she didn’t really have any other alternatives, but she should have at least tried to gather more information before leaving the only safe place she’d known.

Her stomach growled loudly, interrupting her thoughts. She was getting hungry. How inconvenient. The last thing she wanted was to leave her two babies alone in the cabin to find food. But she had to do so if they were going to survive.

She hung the wet rag on a tree branch so that it could dry. Then she carefully stripped out of her clothing and left them folded underneath a tree. It would be really unfortunate if she accidentally destroyed one of the few pieces of clothing she had left. Best to take them off first to be safe.

Once her clothes were tucked away in a dry spot, Raina reached into the back of her mind for the Otherness she had become more familiar with as she grew older. The Otherness stretched like a stiff muscle before spreading across her mind. It spread until it felt like it was pressing against her skull. Then tiny tendrils slipped out and creeped across her body until they reached her fingertips. The transformation was quick and painless as if she was slipping into a new set of clothes.

She fell onto all fours. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth, the scent of ozone slipping out of her muzzle. Her white fur prickled like needles. Her senses had changed with her form. Her sapphire eyes could perceive the little supernatural creatures that hid in the streams and flew in the wind. Her nose could smell the animals that had stopped to drink at the stream before her arrival. Her ears picked up the tiniest of noises.

She sniffed the ground carefully. She only needed a small meal. Something to hold her over until night fell. Something like... a rabbit. She loped through the woods letting her nose be her guide. There was a rabbit nearby, and she wanted to find it.

As she trailed the rabbit, tiny creatures whispered strange words in her ears and brushed against her fur. Raina had been able to perceive them since she was a child. Spirits, she had started calling them though she wasn’t entirely sure what they were. They took great interest in her when she used her magic. However, she couldn’t see them once she locked her magic away. It appeared that the spirits were satisfied with fiddling with her fur for the time being.

There was a rustle in the grass up ahead followed by the quiet grinding of long teeth. Without hesitation, Raina flexed her paws and lunged forward. Her body shot across the ground like a bullet as she sailed towards the rabbit. It was dead before it had a chance to react.

Raina picked up the rabbit, happy to have dinner taken care of, when a howl made her freeze. She lowered herself so that the grass better concealed her and listened carefully. The howl sounded again at the other end of the valley.

_They’ve found me._

Terror flooded Raina’s paws and caused her to start racing back in the direction of the cabin. Halfway through the journey, her brain kicked in and she slid to a stop.

_Stupid_ , she thought. She was carrying a dead rabbit that was still bleeding and she was just going to run straight back to her hiding spot? She was going to leave a scent trail leading straight there. The gears in her head churned, and an idea entered her mind.

She changed directions and instead headed towards a cluster of trees downhill from where she stood. Once she was inside the thickest part of the trees, she settled down and ate her rabbit hurriedly. She gathered up the leftover bones and scattered them around the thicket, some bones exposed, some of them half-buried. She scratched her back on the side of a tree until a couple tufts of fur came off and stuck to the bark, then scent-marked another nearby tree. When she was satisfied with her work, she trekked her way to a creek and washed herself off.

And now for the final part of her plan. Raina willed her magic to her body and felt it crackle underneath her skin. She quieted the magic and let it settle over her skin before she stepped away from the creek. To her eyes, she still looked and sounded the same. But to any creature that happened across her, all they would see is a faint blue blur.

In all honesty, it was a simple See-Me-Not spell that Raina had learned when she was young. It came to her almost reflexively and required minimal effort to cast, yet it had gotten her out of trouble numerous times.

She thought back to how she had used the same spell to fight off the rogue wolf from a few days ago. She shivered in anger at the memory of her darling child locked between the wolf’s jaws. No. She needed to stay focused. Otherwise, her anger would dispel her magic. Her magic was of a wilder type, not too keen on sticking to simpler, subtler spells such as See-Me-Not. If she wanted it to hold, she needed to control her emotions.

* * *

“We found the female’s den,” explained the lower-ranked wolf. “It looks like she has been nesting here for some time. We found signs of her presence all over the place.”

Tag followed the werewolf towards the den site. This new development was an improvement compared to the last few weeks, but Tag was choosing to not be too optimistic. All of their previous attempts to track this enigmatic wolf had led to dead ends. They ran into scent trails that led nowhere, sightings that went unproven, and kills that could have belonged to any animal. For all Tag knew, this would turn out to be another dead end.

The werewolf named Gregory led Tag along a creek, then ducked into the bushes. Gregory stopped by a small patch of blood and a set of pawprints.

Tag bent down to sniff the blood. It was fresh but it did not belong to a wolf. It belonged to something small and furry like a rabbit or squirrel. The pawprints carried a different scent. It was not quite like that of a wolf and had a fading edge to it that reminded Tag of the scent of bumper carts strangely enough.

They followed the scent trail away from the creek before it abruptly changed directions and disappeared into a cluster of trees. The cluster of trees revealed a spot trampled down by several pawprints and with bones and dried blood scattered everywhere. Some of the bones were half-buried while others were left out in the open.

Gregory gestured to the bones. “We think this is where she has been hiding for the last few weeks. It would explain why we haven’t been able to find her. This den is very well hidden.”

“Where does the rest of the scent trail go after leaving the den?” Tag asked.

“We were able to follow it all the way back to the creek. Then we lost track of it. That’s when we called you.”

Tag and Gregory followed the scent trail leading out of the den. Gregory had been correct. The rogue’s scent trail led all the way to the creek then abruptly disappeared.

Tag frowned. It was difficult to make a scent trail vanish like that. Many people assumed that walking through water was a great way to cover up a scent trail, but they forgot that the exposed parts of their body would still leave a scent in the air. Besides, the water trick stopped working the moment they were no longer standing in water.

Tag went up and down the creek but still couldn’t catch a scent. Even a more experienced wolf would have a hard time hiding their tracks from a werewolf. Tag was one of the best trackers in the pack, yet he still couldn’t figure out where the female wolf had gone. That could only mean that she was using magic to hide her movements. That would also explain why they hadn’t known she was here until Charles had run into her a couple weeks ago.

If she could use See-Me-Not spells to hide herself, why hadn’t she done so this time? Vampires used similar spells to hide their homes and feeding spots from predators. Even werewolves were familiar with these types of spells. Yet the female wolf had left a trail straight back to her hiding spot. He thought back to the bones inside the thicket of trees. Initially, there appeared to be several separate piles of bones. But in hindsight, they clearly all belonged to the same animal. The blood had smelled fresh with no traces of older smells in the den. That meant that all of the bones had belonged to the rabbit she had killed today.

The wolf had set them up, Tag realized. She wanted them to think that this was her primary hiding spot so that they would search here rather than near her actual den. That explained why the scent of her pup was absent from this den. The pup was never here to begin with.

_Clever girl_ , Tag thought. The wolf they were tracking was both intelligent and magically gifted. That was okay though. Tag enjoyed a good challenge.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raina starts receiving unexpected presents from her new neighbors and one comes with a strange offer.

It was another week before they found her.

Raina had not expected them. She was inside the cabin attempting to coax her children out of wolf form so she could feed them. Sofie was quite eager to swap between human and wolf form with encouragement, but Luca seemed to prefer his wolf form. Sofie was laying on the blanket making cute noises and tangling her fingers in her chestnut hair. Luca, on the other hand, was trying to slip away and whined every time Raina caught him by the scruff and pulled him back towards his sister. Babies, Raina had discovered, could be quite stubborn.

Raina was on the verge of using her magic to lure Luca back into human form when there was a crash outside the cabin. She jumped at the suddenness of the noise and her eyes turned towards the door. Fear clouded her mind and pulled at her senses. The meager light from her makeshift candle made shadows dance against the walls. For a moment, Raina thought she saw a dark figure sneering at her from beside the door. Flashes of light burned at the tips of her fingers, and she scratched at the scars on her arms as her breath quickened. Then she blinked, and the bitter memory faded from her mind.

She swallowed thickly and remembered the noise outside. No matter how terrified she felt, she had to check it out and figure out what had caused that crash. If it turned out to be a tree falling over, then it was no big deal and she had just experienced a panic attack over nothing. If it turned out to be an attack, she would have no choice but to fight back.

Raina bundled up her two babies and hid them behind a pile of debris in a corner of the cabin. Then she reached out with her Otherness and tried to feel what was outside. At first, her sixth sense detected only the surrounding forest. Then she felt a certain presence that stood out above everything else. There was something more intelligent than a tree or a squirrel outside the cabin.

Raina retracted her senses and clenched her fists. Her face was calm, but internally she was a hurricane of panic. They had found her. She didn’t know how. They shouldn’t have been able to find her so quickly. She had done everything right. She had covered up her tracks, hidden her scent, and created a couple more fake denning spots so she wouldn’t leave too much evidence of her presence behind. And yet, they had still managed to track her down.

_Shit! Shit! Shit!_

Raina bit her tongue and forced the feeling of terror back down her throat. No, she would not let them take her and her children. She would fight them to the death before that happened. No one would hurt them the way they hurt her. Her terror settled into a cool rage, and her magic was swept up in the emotion’s roiling dance. Crackling energy slid over her body as she melted and molded into her wolf form. She stalked towards the front door, the wood searing beneath her white paws. She slid out the door and let her blazing blue eyes scan her territory for the intruder.

At first, she saw nothing. Then she _felt_ something move nearby. She whirled around, eyes still blazing, to find a wolf crouching behind a bush. With its black and white coat pattern, it would have looked more like a border collie if it weren’t so big. Bigger than a normal wolf.

 _Werewolf_ , said an inhuman voice in her head.

She lowered her head and bared her teeth as a deep rumbling filled her throat. But before she could do anything else, the werewolf turned tail and fled.

Raina deflated as she watched the werewolf disappear. _That wasn’t right. That can’t be right._

Raina paused and sniffed the air. No. The werewolf had actually fled. That was… odd. She didn’t know much about werewolves, but everything she had heard made them sound rather formidable. They didn’t seem like the kind of creatures that would back down so easily.

_Cool gray eyes burrowed into the back of her skull. Cold and unyielding._

Raina shivered in shock and felt her wolf form begin to fade away.

“Shit,” she cursed, pulling herself back into the safety and privacy of the cabin. She was letting herself slip into another panic attack if her magic was disobeying her. She needed to stay angry. Rage was good. Rage was powerful. Fear was weakness.

Her internal mantra did her no good, unfortunately, as the last of her lupine body faded away, leaving her sitting on the floor shivering and clutching her hair.

No. No. No. They had found her. She had worked so hard to hide her budding family and she had stupidly let herself get caught. She couldn’t let them take her children. She could not fail her children so early in their lives. She had to do something.

Raina stood up and looked around wildly. She would pack, she decided. Forget Aspen Creek. Forget Montana. She would run somewhere else. Somewhere like…

Her mind went blank. She honestly had no idea where else she could run. Where else she could hide her babies. That was the whole reason why she had come all this way to begin with. It was the only place that she knew of where they might be safe. God, what was she going to do?

She threw what little she had into her worn backpack. It technically wasn’t _her_ backpack, but she needed it more than the previous owner so now she intended to keep it. When she was done packing the bag, she tossed it over her shoulders and started looking over her old map.

She would find a new denning spot. Somewhere deep enough into the mountains that no one would be able to find her and her children. They would be safe and start a new life in a new valley.

Raina took two steps out the door and paused. Not too far from the cabin sat a small, blue container. She blinked at it in confusion. She could have sworn there was nothing there before. She looked around the porch warily and bent down to pick the container up. It was a small plastic tub, the kind someone would use in a kitchen to store leftovers. Carefully, she popped the lid open.

The savory scent of meat mixed with layers of tomato, cheese and pasta. Raina’s mouth watered. Lasagna.

She slowly backed her way into the cabin and barricaded the door behind her. Without a second thought, she tore the rest of the lid off and gobbled up most of the lasagna with her bare hands. Many months of eating raw meat and whatever wild plants she came across had unexpectedly left her craving generic human foods. She almost mourned aloud when the last of the lasagna disappeared down her throat.

She was wiping red smudge marks from her face when it occurred to her that she did not know why there was lasagna sitting on her porch. Nor did she know who made it, or what they put in it. She stared down at the empty plastic container with a look of horror.

Someone could have poisoned the food for all she knew, yet she had eaten it like a child finding a piece of gum stuck to the bottom side of a table.

“Crap baskets.”

* * *

_Oh no. Oh God. Oh fuck._

Ashlyn panicked as she ran. Branches slapped at her face, but she didn’t slow her pace. She stopped her tail from curling between her legs so she wouldn’t trip over it. She couldn’t afford to trip while a monster was chasing her.

This was not what she had signed up for. Well… she hadn’t really signed up for any of this. Mostly, she had been volun-told for this job. She had no idea what the Marrok was thinking when he made it her job to approach the scary rogue. And the rogue had, in fact, turned out to be very scary. Eyes were not supposed to glow like that. Ashlyn was sure that if she had frozen for a second longer, that awful creature would have eaten her. Thankfully, she had still possessed the common sense to run rather than hang around.

Tag, who was slowly turning out to be her favorite wolf in the Marrok pack, had been tracking the rogue for a while. Ashlyn wasn’t quite sure how old the werewolf was, but it was clear that the man was so good at tracking that he could probably find a piece of hay in a needle factory. After a few days of noting where the rogue was leaving fake dens and tracks, Tag had used his search-and-rescue skills to determine where her actual den was. Despite the rogue’s sly tactics, Tag had tweezed out a pattern in her movements: her fake tracks always travelled in the opposite direction of an abandoned cabin in the valley.

Ashlyn didn’t know if the rogue had been dumb, or if Tag was just that smart. Knowing Tag, Ashlyn suspected it was more the latter than the former. Still, she had made note of this little incident in the back of her mind. If Ashlyn ever needed to hide from Tag, she would make sure not to plan her false tracks relative to her actual hiding spot. Instead, she would leave them around his house.

Ashlyn dove behind a bush and hid while she caught her breath. She wasn’t sure if the rogue had followed her, but she was choosing to be safe rather than sorry. While she waited, she mentally slapped herself for thinking that today would ever go smoothly for her.

After discovering the rogue’s hiding spot, Bran had handed her a container of food and told her to drop it off on the rogue’s doorstep. Ashlyn had looked at him like he had gone crazy, then looked away immediately. Even with the man’s bland face, she could still see the wolf in his eyes. The wolf had looked back at her with its enraged, mad eyes.

After that look, Ashlyn had made sure not to ask too many questions and had beat a hasty retreat. Minus a few exceptions, Aspen Creek seemed to be full of a ton of borderline insane wolves. Most of them avoided her, while others became so interested that it made her uncomfortable.

Ashlyn wondered what insane series of unfortunate events led to her ending up in Aspen Creek. She hadn’t wanted to become a werewolf. She hadn’t wanted to be submissive. She hadn’t wanted to be so afraid of her own shadow that her Alpha decided she would be safer in the middle of nowhere Montana. Nope. All of that was out of her control. Yet here she was paying the consequences.

Ashlyn had tried to be smart about approaching the cabin. She had tried to first check to see if the rogue was home. Unfortunately, the Marrok had insisted that Ashlyn visit the cabin alone, and she wasn’t good enough with her nose to be able to tell an old scent trail from a new one.

Then she had tried moving to a better vantage point. Instead of trying to track the rogue by her scent trail, Ashlyn had decided that she would be better off using her eyes instead. She would move to high ground and wait until she was sure the rogue was gone before leaving the food on her doorstep. Like any reasonable person would do, Ashlyn had decided to climb a tree. It would provide a good vantage point while also preventing the rogue from sneaking up on her. Too bad wolf paws are terrible for climbing trees.

The resulting crash to the ground had caused quite a stir. Ashlyn had only just managed to get back to her feet when the door of the cabin flew open and revealed a terrifying sight.

Ashlyn thought back to the rogue’s angry glowing eyes and pointy teeth and shuddered. The Marrok was going to get her killed over a container of food. She shook her head in disgust.

_Stupid lasagna!_

She got up and slowly stepped out of the bush. No sign of an angry white wolf hiding around the corner. Looked like Ashlyn was in the clear.

She confidently stepped out of her hiding spot and made her way back towards where her car was parked. Nothing left to do but report back to the Marrok. Hopefully, this was the last time he would expect her to provide food delivery services.

* * *

More days brought more visits from the werewolves. Every single time, they appeared outside her cabin, placed a small container on the ground, then disappeared back into the trees. Typically, it was the same black and white wolf. Although occasionally multiple wolves appeared outside the cabin with food. They never approached her nor spoke to her. They simply placed the food on the ground and walked away.

The first day, they had brought her lasagna. The second day had brought a homemade apple pie. The third day was a set of turkey sandwiches. Every time, Raina had carefully sifted through the food before hesitantly taking a bite. The good news was that none of the food was poisoned as far as she knew. If they were, she probably would have gotten sick by now. Plus, now that she was getting free food delivered to her doorstep, she didn’t have to leave the cabin as much to hunt and leave her babies unguarded. The downside was that it meant that the werewolves knew exactly where she was hiding and were probably keeping their eyes on her. The thought greatly unsettled Raina.

She found herself again considering fleeing the area, but again she didn’t know where to go. On more than one occasion, she had considered asking one of the werewolves for directions to Aspen Creek. But she had been specifically warned to avoid werewolves until she found Aspen Creek.

“Werewolves,” he had said, “valued children more than they valued women.” If they found out about her children, she would run the risk of a werewolf kidnapping her children to raise as their own. This was something that Raina couldn’t risk. She would have to be careful around the werewolves until she found Aspen Creek. Wherever Aspen Creek was hiding.

Although Raina had to marvel at how she kept running into so many werewolves ever since crossing the Montana border. Was Montana some kind of werewolf capital? Raina chuckled at her own dumb question. Of course not. Why would werewolves base themselves in Montana of all places? If Raina had to guess, they would most likely build a capital in a place along the East Coast since they came from Europe. If the werewolves even had a capital.

Raina jumped when part of the cabin’s roof abruptly caved in, dumping pine needles and debris into the kitchen. A cold draft filled the cabin and caused Raina to shiver. It was getting colder outside, and the cabin wasn’t too keen on staying in one piece. She had done her best to reinforce the roof with what little skills and material she had, but it still wasn’t holding up too well.

Her babies started crying, woken up by the noise and disturbed by the sudden cold. She removed the twins from their crib and held them close to her body. Her warmth and soft voice calmed the two babies and caused them to fall back asleep. She returned them to their crib and returned her attention to the hole in the roof.

Raina shivered but not from the cold. Things would have to change soon if she didn’t want to freeze to death.

As it turned out, change did in fact come quickly. And it came bearing gifts.

On the eighth day of the werewolves’ visits, her free meal came with an attached note. The scrap of paper was haphazardly taped to the top of the Tupperware container. It looked like a random, discarded piece of paper at first glance. But when Raina unfolded the paper, she found words written in delicate looping cursive penned across the paper’s surface. She read it carefully.

_We have noticed your presence in our territory and have chosen to welcome you to stay in one of our homes. If you choose to accept our invitation, please meet me at 18 Rosemary Ln._

At the bottom of the paper written in a completely different style of handwriting were more words.

_Welcome to Aspen Creek!_

Raina blinked slowly. So, they had gone from trying to kidnap her son to stalking her and leaving gifts for her, to now inviting her over to their house? In a different situation, Raina would have expected the behavior from a controlling ex-boyfriend. But she was dealing with werewolves, and werewolves were nothing but controlling and paranoid.

She thought carefully. If she attended this meeting, she would have to leave her kids behind. For all she knew, it was a trap. Something intended to lure her away from her children while also leaving her open to ambush.

She glanced at the deteriorating walls of the cabin. The cabin became colder with every day that passed. Even while wearing her jacket, Raina found the inside of the cabin uncomfortably cold. Even her children had begun to notice as they were less keen on leaving their wolf shape even when they were hungry. The extra layer of fur helped to keep out the cold.

Raina sighed as she considered the offer. She didn’t like it but she couldn’t wait any longer. She had been stuck in the mountains for weeks and still hadn’t managed to find Aspen Creek -- wait. Did the note say Aspen Creek?

She read over the note again. It did mention Aspen Creek. In fact, it even included a small map with a line between the location of her cabin and a small dot marked as Aspen Creek. Aspen Creek was wedged in a part of Montana not far from the Cabinet Mountains. It was the same part of Raina’s map that was completely unmarked and did not show any towns.

“Well,” Raina breathed. “That explains why I couldn’t find Aspen Creek.” It wasn’t even shown on official maps. That was probably a good sign, she thought. Or a bad sign. She wasn’t sure.

If the werewolves knew where Aspen Creek was, they could offer her an idea of what she was getting herself into, something that her informant had failed to do. In that case, she would have to chance it. She would scout out the area and see what she could learn instead.

She set about preparing. She expected that the werewolves wouldn’t expect her to show up so quickly, so she would take advantage of the timing to stay hidden while she checked the address out. She packed a set of clothing into a backpack and threw it over her shoulder. She checked on her babies to make sure they were still asleep and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead.

Before she left, she pulled on her _otherness_ and used it to set a trap just inside the front door. Subtle enough that the werewolves wouldn’t sense it from the other side of the door, but powerful enough to maim an intruder.

She set out on her way to Aspen Creek using the map the werewolves had provided her. Traveling in wolf form made the long journey on foot faster. However, when she reached the edge of a small town, she transformed back into human form and quickly threw her clothes back on. Nothing said “I’m not from here” like walking around naked in the middle of town. Once she was fully dressed, she made her way into the town.

Raina wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she went out looking for Aspen Creek. She had suspected that the place was a town. She hadn’t imagined it would be a town this small. No wonder it wasn’t on any of the maps. Now that it was in front of her, Aspen Creek was clearly more of a village than a town.

_I traveled all the way out into the sticks to find a place like this?!_

She would have been better off in a large city like Denver. At least there were enough people to allow her to blend in. Aspen Creek was the exact opposite of a place to blend in. She would stand out like a sore thumb.

Raina pinched the bridge of her nose. Seeing how she was already here, it looked like she would just have to make do for now. She can worry about finding a different city to move to later. She glanced down at the address in her hand.

_18 Rosemary Ln._

She took a deep breath and went about finding the address.

It didn’t take long to find the address. Aspen Creek didn’t have that many streets. It also helped that the house was at the edge of the town, so she didn’t have to worry too much about staying hidden. She only ran into one person, but they were so busy managing the little dog they were walking that they paid no heed to Raina.

Raina stopped in front of the house with the listed address. It was a rather plain house. It had faded yellow walls and a dark roof. It looked like it was likely older than Raina herself but at least it wasn’t falling apart like the cabin was.

Raina peered through the windows into the house. It appeared unoccupied. There was furniture but no signs of anyone currently living inside the house.

 _Strange_ , Raina thought. _Why would they hold a meeting in an empty house?_

It could be a trap, she considered. She tested the front door, but it was locked. She checked the back, but the back door was also locked. She could have transformed into a wolf and forced the door open, but then the whole town would know that the house was broken into. Not something she wanted to risk. She sniffed around but only detected the faint minty scent of werewolves that had visited the backyard some time ago.

She circled the entire house but found no signs of traps or anything unusual. It was just an empty deserted house.

“Well, that settles one problem,” Raina said. Since the house seemed safe, she would take her chances with the meeting. If it turned out to be a trap, she would just turn into a wolf and flee back to the cabin. Her Otherness lurched in the back of her mind.

And no one would stop her if they got in her way.

She shook away that more primal part of her mind. She turned back towards the street and nearly screamed.

A cat stood behind her. It was small and black and stared at her with green eyes. It meowed at her and rubbed up against her leg.

Raina reached down and stroked the cat’s fur. “Hey there, kitty. You nearly made me poop my pants. You should get back home.”

The cat meowed and padded off.

Raina watched the cat leave and placed a hand over her stomach when it growled loudly. She could really go for something good to eat right now. The werewolves had brought food to her cabin this morning, but she had already eaten it all. She didn’t feel like eating rabbit or squirrel right now. She wanted to eat something more modern.

Her eyes fell on a gas station. It was closer to the center of town but still provided Raina with a convenient escape route back towards the woods. Her mind was made up.

She walked down the street towards the gas station. She smiled and waved at a young man as she walked past him. The man turned around and gave her a dumbfounded if not offended look. Raina’s smile fell and she stopped waving. Okay, then. She guessed people didn’t wave to each other in Aspen Creek.

She walked into the convenience store as casually as she could manage. The cashier glanced up at her as she walked in, then looked back down at the newspaper he was holding. She smiled at him before walking towards the food aisle. She grabbed a couple bags of chips and some beef jerky and brought it back to the counter. She didn’t realize her mistake until she reached the counter.

“Will that be all today?” the cashier asked as he scanned the food.

“Yep,” Raina said tightly. “That’s all.”

The cashier smiled at her, his minty scent wafting towards her. “You don’t look like you're from here. Are you another tourist?”

“Yes,” Raina answered quickly. “Yes. I’m here to do some hiking and maybe some skiing too.”

“If that’s your plan, you should get better clothes. It gets cold up in the mountains. Don’t want to end up with frostbite.”

“Mhm. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Raina took the plastic bag that the cashier handed her and quickly left. She took deep breaths as she walked away from the convenience store.

“That was dumb,” she muttered to herself. “That was so dumb.”

All she had to do was get in and out of town without drawing attention to herself. So, what does she do? She walks into a convenience store run by a werewolf all because she had a craving for junk food. _Stupid!_

Hopefully, the werewolf hadn’t noticed any strange smells on her, though Raina doubted that she would be so lucky. She suspected that a werewolf’s sense of smell was stronger than hers. If she was able to smell him, he could probably smell her.

In any case, it was time to leave. She needed to be gone before the cavalry arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this chapter the day after Christmas. Hope you enjoy!

Bran sat on the sofa with his legs stretched out languidly. He had been waiting in the empty house for the last few hours. The rogue had still not made an appearance, but Bran chose to be patient. When a werewolf has lived as long as he did, they tended to get very good at being patient. 

He resisted the urge to rest his feet up on the coffee table. The table was sturdy, but Bran didn’t want to risk smudging the surface. He had already spent too much time cleaning up the inside of the house before arriving for the meeting. He had left a few pieces of furniture in the living room. A sofa and a small loveseat sat in the corner facing the wall. Across from the seats, on the other side of the coffee table, sat a small television that was still working last time Bran checked. There was a small landscape painting resting on the wall behind the television. The colorfulness of the painting somewhat clashed with the plainness of the room. As for the rest of the house, the furnishings were simple and lacked any personal touches.

The choice of location for the meeting had not been random, nor was it a matter of convenience. This house had been vacant ever since the Patterson’s had moved out last year. There had been a few offers made on the house, but so far no one had been interested in taking it. The house was too large for a single person but too quaint for the average-sized American family. It was better suited for a smaller, budding family. The house was right on the edge of town and no longer smelled like the previous residents. Bran hoped that the rogue female had found the place appealing. 

Bran smiled to himself, thinking about how the rogue had snuck into Aspen Creek not knowing she had been watched the entire time. He could only assume that she had been scouting out the meeting spot and thought no one would notice her. Even if she hadn’t stopped at the gas station to buy food, Bran would have known that she was in his town. He had told his wolves to watch the empty house and the cabin in intervals so that he could track the rogue’s movements. It seemed that she had not noticed the number of watchful eyes quite yet. 

Despite the initial setbacks, the free food had worked according to plan. The rogue was slowly becoming less wary of the werewolves’ presence and more willing to venture out of her hiding spot even when she knew they were around. Being holed up in the mountains, she was bound to get hungry eventually. Although, Bran had to admit that he hadn’t expected her to be brave, or perhaps desperate, enough to walk into a convenience store and buy snacks from a werewolf. He would have to remember to include a bag of chips in her lunch pack the next time he sent Ashlyn to visit the cabin. That is, if the rogue didn’t decide to move into the new house immediately. 

Unfortunately, Bran hadn’t been waiting in the house when the rogue had first arrived. Had he been there, he could have talked to her then. Instead, he had been at home answering a phone call when Larry, one of his werewolves, had called him from the gas station.

“The rogue female was spotted in Aspen Creek pretending to be a tourist. Her acting wasn’t very convincing.”

The description had gotten a chuckle out of Bran. This mystery woman was smart for her age but not smart enough to outwit centuries-old werewolves. Larry had described her as being fairly young and most likely Asian American. She’d acted nervous when she had spoken to Larry but also vaguely threatening. Bran had taken notes on her appearance and behavior and stored the information away in a file he kept in his office. So far, Charles had not managed to discover any missing person reports matching the mystery woman’s description, but Bran was sure they would uncover her identity in due time. It was hard to hide one’s identity from a man like Charles for too long. 

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Bran pulled out the phone. One of the wolves assigned to be the lookout had sent him a text. The rogue female had just entered Aspen Creek and was headed this way. Bran put his phone away and stretched.

Excellent. He would be ready when she arrived. He brushed off his clothes. Today, he had gone for casual wear. He’d purchased his clothes from one of the new American stores that appealed to the younger generation. He hoped that a stylish top and ripped jeans would make his guest more comfortable. At the minimum, he would look like someone who belonged in this century. 

It was only a few minutes later when he heard the door quietly open. Bran cleared his throat loudly and shifted on the sofa to make sure that the guest would hear him before she entered. No point spooking her before she even saw his face. There was a brief pause by the door before the door shut slowly. 

Cautiously, a small figure entered the living room. Her clothes were ratty, and her dark hair was cut unevenly. Her prominent cheekbones showed how underfed she was, and she moved as if her joints ached. Her shoulders were tense, and her dark eyes held a guarded look as she took in the living room. She froze like a statue when her eyes landed on Bran.

Bran leaned back into the sofa, keeping his body language relaxed and his eyes soft. “Come in,” he said pleasantly. “Take a seat.” He gestured towards the loveseat across from his. 

Instead of taking the seat, the rogue moved carefully until she stood behind the piece of furniture, keeping it between her and him. 

_Cautious, but ready to defend herself_ , Bran thought. He ignored the indignant growl that sounded inside his mind at the rogue’s disregard for Bran’s authority and instead gave a subtle smile as if she had done something clever. 

“Let’s start with introductions. I am Bran Cornick. What should I call you?”

“Renae,” she responded without blinking.

 _Ah_ , Bran thought. She hadn’t reacted when he had told her his name. That meant she didn’t recognize him despite his reputation. That meant that she knew little about the town she was currently in and who kept the settlement up and running. Furthermore, Bran noted, the name she had just given him was fake. There was only one good way to deal with such lies. 

“Renae?” he repeated, as if to check his pronunciation. “I heard that you were found quite close to Aspen Creek. Why are you here?”

‘Renae’ blinked in surprise and stumbled over her words. “I-I was just passing through. I didn’t intend to stay long.”

Another lie but this one was less well-thought-out. Upfront, direct questions would leave her less time to think. It would make the lies more obvious, and the truths more inclined to slip out. 

“If you wanted to stay in Aspen Creek, you could have just asked. Why didn’t you?”

Renae opened and closed her mouth before clenching her jaw. “I had other plans.”

“That’s unfortunate. I was hoping that you would be willing to take this house. It’s been empty for so long that we could really use someone willing to move in for free. I guess I will have to ask someone else.”

A look flashed across her face and disappeared in an instant. Desperation. It told Bran all he needed to know without having to ask directly. This woman was either running from someone or looking for a safe haven. Someone, Bran didn’t know who, had directed her to Aspen Creek but hadn’t bothered to tell her what she was walking into. Bran also wasn’t sure if the decision to exclude that valuable bit of information had been intentional or not, though he probably would have gone about things differently had he been in the informant’s place. 

Renae shifted nervously, her eyes flashing towards the door.

Before she could flee, Bran pulled out a keychain and a card and placed them on the coffee table. “I won’t ask you who or what you are running from or why you chose to come here seeking help. All you need to know is that if you need a place to stay, there is room for you and your family right here. If you ever change your mind about staying in Aspen Creek, you will be free to leave as you please. No harm will come to you or yours as long as you are in this town. Please consider the offer.”

Bran stood up and made his way towards the door. He did not look back as he walked down the sidewalk away from the house. He made sure that he was in full view of the window until he reached the end of the road and was forced to turn out of view. 

This rogue, ‘Renae’ as she had claimed, would see that he had left and feel safe to linger in the house a bit longer. Hopefully, she would take the keys and his business card and accept his offer. Maybe she would notice the cans of food in the pantry or pause to take note of how soft the king-sized bed in the master bedroom felt. Perhaps she would even find the spare crib stored away in the closet and think about how it was just the right size for her child. All of them things that Bran had ‘accidentally’ left in the house the last time he was there. Compared to the rotting cabin, the tiny house would feel like a luxury inn. 

Even with the lure of a free house, Bran would have to approach this situation carefully. Even though he had done his best to keep the rogue feeling safe and comfortable, she had still considered running away just at the sight of him. Her flightiness was unusual and reminded him of some of the werewolves he had taken in. Her scars were even more interesting. He suspected that whatever had caused those scars had also caused the fearful, nervous look in her eyes too. All the more reason to ensure that Ashlyn was the primary werewolf Renae had direct contact with. Once the rogue felt more comfortable around the submissive wolf and eventually the rest of the pack, Bran could set about digging up more information on her to figure out who she was and where she came from. For now, he would have to focus on getting her and her child someplace safe and away from danger. No better place for that than Aspen Creek. 

Bran reached the doorstep to his house. Faintly, he could hear someone humming inside. He rolled his eyes. Looks like he had an unexpected visitor today. He took his time and tapped his shoes on the edge of the concrete porch. Leah always hated it when he tracked mud into the house. Then he took a deep breath and pushed his way through the door, steeling himself so that he could deal with his favorite trespasser. 

* * *

“How did it go?” Anna asked as soon as Bran stepped into the house. 

Bran rolled his eyes as he took off his shoes and set them beside the door. “Hello to you, too.”

Anna ignored his dry tone and handed him a cookie as he entered the kitchen. Bran took a bite out of the cookie and made a small sound of delight.

“Orange oil? I see that you are enjoying Mercy’s new recipe.”

Anna hummed affirmatively. “Yep. Who would have guessed that fruit extracts would go so well with cookies? Maybe I should make some for our new neighbor.”

Bran shot her a foul look. “She hasn’t decided whether to move in yet, but you’re already planning a gift basket for her?”

Anna shrugged sheepishly. “What can I say? I love making gift baskets. Besides, someone should make sure she feels welcome. Moving to a town like this is always a weird experience. Everyone here is so strange and nosy.”

“Nosy? You don’t say?” Bran deadpanned.

“Yes,” she said blandly. “Exactly. I heard that you’ve been sending a wolf out to give her food. Poor Ashlyn. To be stuck in the middle of an old wolf’s mind games.” She sighed dramatically. 

Bran simply grunted at her teasing and took another cookie. Anna pursed her lips as she watched Bran eat. 

“Why did you go with food?”

Bran sat down and leaned back in a chair until it was nearly balanced on its hind legs. “Hunger is a powerful motivator. Especially when you’re stuck up in the Cabinets for weeks on end with very few things to eat. I’d be more than happy to wander into town for a bag of chips and talk to total strangers if I were in that position.” Bran suddenly eyed his cookie with an awed grin. “Ah, I see what you did there.”

Anna couldn’t help but smirk proudly. One thing that she had learned about the Cornick family is that they liked to have scientific debates. Even Charles had turned out to be a closet nerd too. One common subject that came up was psychology. 

Samuel was quite fond of Freud’s work and would occasionally use the man’s writings to poke fun at his father. But Bran equated the former psychologist’s work to random psychobabble and hooha. He much preferred the works of Skinner and Pavlov. Their work, according to Bran, was much more sensible having not been fueled by cocaine use.

Anna had suspected since the beginning that Bran had been testing out psychology tricks on the rogue wolf when he had decided to send wolves out to deliver food to the once abandoned cabin. She thought the strategy had been strange if not a little manipulative, so she decided to give the Marrok a taste of his own medicine. 

“The cookies _are_ very delicious,” Anna said mischievously.

Bran held up his hands and sighed in exaggerated defeat. “Very well, I will give you a little gossip to chew on. The rumors you have undoubtedly heard are at least partially true. The rogue in the mountains does have a werewolf child. And she is the mother of said child.”

Anna nodded her head having already heard this information from her husband Charles. 

“But what you don’t know,” Bran continued, “is that the rogue isn’t a werewolf herself. She is something else entirely.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “I thought a woman had to be a werewolf to give birth to werewolves. If she is not a werewolf, what is she?”

Bran gave a vague yet knowing smile and said nothing.

Anna scowled at him. “If you weren’t going to tell me, you could have just said so. Anything else you can tell me.”

“Hm. I suspect that ‘Renae’ is going to be moving herself and her son into the new house within the next few days. I will need someone to show her around Aspen Creek once she is moved in. Don’t give me those puppy-dog eyes! Did you think there was anyone else I could send besides you?”

Anna opened then closed her mouth. Can’t send a human because the rogue might kill them. Can’t send any male werewolves because the rogue might treat them as a threat like she did Charles. There were female werewolves, but very few of them would make a useful guide. “Leah?”

Bran turned slowly and stared at her.

She shrugged. “What? You asked me who else could handle that job.”

Bran rolled his eyes. “Leah will be busy this week. The only people available is you and Ashlyn. And I can’t guarantee that Ashlyn won’t get scared and run for the hills if I send her.” the corner of his mouth raised in a half smile. “But if you don’t feel that you are capable…”

“I’ll do it!” Anna said with a little too much enthusiasm. She pulled out her cell phone and started typing a list. “I will make a gift basket for her. Then I will take her out to buy groceries. Then we can drive out to Missoula and--”

Bran backed away slightly. “Okay. Okay. I see that you already have this under control. I’ll leave you to your planning and contact you when it’s time. Now, I have an online meeting to attend to. See you tomorrow.”

Bran grabbed the rest of the cookies and disappeared into his office. Anna watched him leave before grabbing her coat and heading for the front door. Since she had parked her car along the road outside Bran’s house, the walk back to her car was a short one. Even so, Anna was careful not to slip as she walked down the driveway. It was getting much colder in Aspen Creek, and even without any recent rainfall, there was still a risk of ice. 

Anna didn’t say anything as she climbed into her car. She started the car and leaned back into the driver’s seat. She stared out the window as the car heated up. Slowly, Anna’s hand rose to cover her mouth.

A creature that could give birth to children. And not just any children. Werewolf children. 

Anna had wanted children for some time. Before she had been Changed, she had thought little of having children. She had been young -- well, younger -- carefree, and pursuing a music degree in college. While she had never been opposed to the idea of having children, she had treated it as an afterthought in those days, something that she would worry about after she graduated. 

But that time never came. In a stroke of terrible luck, she had been transformed into a werewolf. And with that, she had lost her ability to ever have children of her own. 

Anna had mourned the loss when she had first found out. Even though she hadn’t been planning to have kids, she hated that the decision had essentially been made for her. 

But this girl -- no, woman -- gave Anna a glimmer of hope. They had discussed adoption which Charles had been shown some openness to. But if the woman was able to carry her own children to term, could that mean that she would be a viable surrogate?

Anna felt her wolf shiver at the question. If _she_ had thought of that possibility, then the other wolves who knew of the woman would have thought the same. This mystery woman was about to get a lot of attention. 

* * *

Bran settled into his chair and turned on his computer. 

“One meeting after another,” he sighed as he tried to get comfortable.

He checked his clock and saw that he still had two minutes left until the meeting was supposed to start. Looks like he made it back just in time. He leaned back in his seat with his arms folded behind his head as he waited. 

Finally, a notification appeared on his computer screen. He clicked on the notification and smiled as a face lit up his screen. 

“Finally! Let’s get down to business. I’ve heard much about you.”


End file.
